Earth from Space: Lusaka, Zambia
Thursday, 18 February 2021 09:00
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Lusaka – the capital and largest city of Zambia.
Touchdown: NASA's Perseverance rover ready to search for life on Mars
Thursday, 18 February 2021 03:23
After seven months in space, NASA's Perseverance rover survived a nail-biting landing phase to touch down gently on the surface of Mars on Thursday, ready to embark on its mission to search for the signs of ancient microbial life.
"Touchdown confirmed," said operations lead Swati Mohan at around 3:55 pm Eastern Time (2055 GMT), as mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasade Mars landing will mark many firsts in space exploration
Thursday, 18 February 2021 03:23
NASA's planned landing of the Mars rover Perseverance at 3:55 p.m. EST Thursday will begin a process to advance exploration and understanding of the Red Planet by leaps and bounds - if all goes well.
New landing technology being employed is vital to future missions, especially if humans are ever to set foot on Mars, Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator, said in an interview Wedne Mars 2020 - a virtual visit to Jezero Crater
Thursday, 18 February 2021 03:23
Today, on the evening of 18 February 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 mission has safely landed the rover 'Perseverance' in Jezero Crater at 21:55 (CET). With these image products, the landing site of the most powerful of all Mars rovers to date can be explored on screen. The interactive map of Jezero Crater was created by researchers at Freie Universitat Berlin (FUB) using pre-processed data acquired by First black hole ever detected is more massive than we thought
Thursday, 18 February 2021 03:23
Cygnus X-1, a binary star system first discovered in 1964, comprises one of the closest black holes to Earth. New observations of this black hole, the first ever detected, have led astronomers to question what they know about the Universe's most mysterious objects.
An international team, including researchers from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( New form of crystalline ice may help learn about hydrogen bonds
Thursday, 18 February 2021 03:23
Using neutron diffraction, scientists have characterized the crystalline structure of a newly named ice form, ice XIX.
Researchers described the exotic ice form in a new paper, published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications.
Almost all naturally occurring frozen water on planet Earth, whether ice or snow, exists in the hexagonal crystal form called ordinary ice - or ice NASA confirms Perseverance rover has landed on Mars
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 23:41
NASA said Thursday that the Perseverance rover has touched down on the surface of Mars after successfully overcoming a risky landing phase known as the "seven minutes of terror."
"Touchdown confirmed," said operations lead Swati Mohan at around 3:55 pm Eastern Time (2055 GMT) as mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory headquarters erupted in cheers.
The autonomously-guided pr Quebec invests in Telesat Lightspeed constellation
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 21:53
SAN FRANCISCO – The Quebec government will invest 400 million Canadian dollars ($315.5 million) in Telesat’s Lightspeed low-Earth orbit communications network. MDA will produce the constellation’s phased array antennas. And Thales Alenia Space will manufacture the satellites in Quebec, under a memorandum of understanding announced Feb.
U.S. Space Command to recommend investments in space infrastructure
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 21:34
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military over decades has built extensive infrastructure to move troops and equipment around the world. It may now need to start thinking about investing in foundation technologies to support future activities in space, said Lt.
Perseverance lands on Mars
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 21:10
WASHINGTON — NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars Feb. 18, completing a nearly seven-month journey from Earth and beginning a years-long exploration of the red planet.
Perseverance touched down at Jezero Crater on Mars at 3:55 p.m.
NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:58
A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on Mars.
Ground controllers at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, jumped to their feet, thrust their arms in the air and cheered in both triumph and relief on receiving confirmation that the six-wheeled Perseverance had touched down on the red planet, long a deathtrap for incoming spacecraft.
Morpheus opens U.S. office and names chief revenue officer
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 19:56
SAN FRANCISCO – German propulsion startup Morpheus Space has opened a Los Angeles office and named a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and fighter pilot as its chief revenue officer.
David Kalinske, who retired from the Marine Corps in 2013 after serving as commanding officer of a fighter squadron and an aide to Presidents George W.
Satellite imagery and data firm BlackSky to go public in latest SPAC deal
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 16:37
WASHINGTON — BlackSky, a provider of satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence, announced Feb. 18 is has signed a deal to go public through a merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp.
Osprey is a special purpose acquisition company.
The search for life beyond Earth
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 15:48
Mars may now be considered a barren, icy desert but did Earth's nearest neighbour once harbour life?
It is a question that has preoccupied scientists for centuries and fired up sci-fi imaginings.
After seven months in space, NASA's Perseverance rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday, in search of clues.
Why Mars?
Other planets or moons, could also harbour forms of life, so why pick Mars?
NASA says Mars is not just one of the more accessible places in the solar system and a potential future destination for humans, but exploring the planet could also help to answer "origin and evolution of life questions".
"Mars is unique across the entire solar system in that it is a terrestrial planet with an atmosphere and climate, its geology is known to be very diverse and complex (like Earth), and it appears that the climate of Mars has changed over its history (like Earth)," it adds on its Mars programme website.
China assembling rocket to launch first space station module
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 14:02
HELSINKI — The Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket to launch China’s first space station module is soon to be assembled at Wenchang for launch in April.